- Publisher: Pen & Sword
- Year: 2023
- Format: Hardback
- Pages: 134pp
- Illustrated: Yes
- Dimensions: 256x178mm
- Condition: New
- Weight: 0.6kg
- ISBN: 9781399062138
- Product code: 545438
A Crimean Winter of Discontent
The Crimean War Letters of William John Rous
Ed. Ian Fletcher New Hardback Illustrated
Postscript summary
Throughout the gruelling 10-month siege of Sebastopol, William Rous, a young lieutenant in the 90th (Perthshire) Regiment, wrote home regularly to his mother and his sister Henrietta. Published here for the first time, his letters vividly describe the bitter cold and rampant disease that cost more British lives than the Russian defenders’ gunfire. The book is illustrated with contemporary photographs and maps, while an introduction and notes explain the military background.
Product information
Full publisher description
As the snow fell on the face it froze, and my hair was matted with ice, and icicles formed on my eyelashes. So intense was the cold that whenever I was compelled in visiting the sentries or otherwise to face the blast, my nose burst out bleeding, which with the exposure exhausted one so much, that it was only the certainty of never rising again that prevented me throwing myself down in the snow.'
This is just one of many lurid passages from the letters of William John Rous, who arrived in the Crimea in December 1854 with his regiment, the 90th (Perthshire) Regiment. Throughout the following months Rous wrote a series of letters describing the ordeal of life in the trenches before Sevastopol in graphic detail. These letters have remained unpublished ever since. Now though Ian Fletcher, one of the leading authorities on the Crimean War, has edited and illustrated Rous's work for republication.
The letters were written during what was the most controversial period of the Crimean War for the British army, for it was during this period that the shortcomings in the army were cruelly exposed during a bitter winter which saw more British soldiers die of cold, disease and overwork than were killed through enemy action.
Rous's words bring home the terrible conditions in the trenches, the lack of sleep, the endless overwork, the constant fear and threat of a Russian sortie, not to mention the ever-present dangers posed by the Russian guns inside the city. Rous's experience sheds new light on one of the most famous but tragic campaigns ever fought by the British army.
This is just one of many lurid passages from the letters of William John Rous, who arrived in the Crimea in December 1854 with his regiment, the 90th (Perthshire) Regiment. Throughout the following months Rous wrote a series of letters describing the ordeal of life in the trenches before Sevastopol in graphic detail. These letters have remained unpublished ever since. Now though Ian Fletcher, one of the leading authorities on the Crimean War, has edited and illustrated Rous's work for republication.
The letters were written during what was the most controversial period of the Crimean War for the British army, for it was during this period that the shortcomings in the army were cruelly exposed during a bitter winter which saw more British soldiers die of cold, disease and overwork than were killed through enemy action.
Rous's words bring home the terrible conditions in the trenches, the lack of sleep, the endless overwork, the constant fear and threat of a Russian sortie, not to mention the ever-present dangers posed by the Russian guns inside the city. Rous's experience sheds new light on one of the most famous but tragic campaigns ever fought by the British army.
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https://www.psbooks.co.uk/crimean-winter-of-discontent
545438
A Crimean Winter of Discontent
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/History
/History/Military History
/History/Military History/Categories/Pre-World War One
/Non-Fiction/Categories/Biography & Memoirs
/Non-Fiction/Categories/Biography & Memoirs/Letters
Throughout the gruelling 10-month siege of Sebastopol, William Rous, a young lieutenant in the 90th (Perthshire) Regiment, wrote home regularly to his mother and his sister Henrietta. Published here for the first time, his letters vividly describe the bitter cold and rampant disease that cost more British lives than the Russian defenders’ gunfire. The book is illustrated with contemporary photographs and maps, while an introduction and notes explain the military background.
Hardback
0
0
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rrp_info:£20.00
productId:183326
bic_code:HBLL, HBW, JWLF
HBLL, HBW, JWLF
£20.00
Ed. Ian Fletcher
General
256x178mm
Pen & Sword
No
Hardback
Modern to 20th Century
